Nowhere Rising

Escape

Session 5

10

JUN/16

After their battle with the skeletons, most of the party returned to the kobold room with the key they had found on the giant corpse. Kirilov, still feeling tired, remained behind (Lux called him a pussy at this point, to which Kirilov responded with one raised finger before reclining to a nap).

When the group opened the door into the Kobold’s inner sanctum, lit by the light of Frank they found a phalanx of four kobolds with tower shields pointing their spears at them. A female kobold in a cape holding a wand decorated with a pearl fist and adorned with a rich necklace demanded to know why they had come.

After some tense moments, Lux stepped forward and began to speak with the kobold female. Influenced by the fact the kobolds were not yet attacking them, and they could hear the sound of young ones yipping nearby, Lux knew they were willing to talk. He was able to convince the kobolds to give them any treasure they did not need, and in exchange, they would leave.

They questioned her lightly about the trouble and what had killed Lora. She spoke of a man in robes who entered the forbidden room a few days ago, and was accompanied by a half-orc and a man in black leathers. Only the robed man exited. She said something that could not be seen attacked Lora.

As she was providing them with the treasure, the room began to shake – jarring loose rocks from the ceiling. As the female cleric began to panic, Lux slyly offered to assist her getting her young ones out of the collapsing dungeon in exchange for the amulet and wand. She readily assented. Two baby kobolds apiece (and six on the tiger), they hurried out of the cave. Kirilov was awake at this point, and joined them.

On their way out, Arcticias scouted ahead – where he found a wounded Alzura crawling up from the crypts below. She whispered to him, “Take this ring to Corvin Rhyst in Farview. Get any help you can to survive. Do not let anyone else take this ring from you. Tell him, ‘The circle has been broken.’” Whereupon Arcticias felt strongly compelled to do exactly as she said. As soon as she completed these words, her body crumbled into dust.

Lux, aided by a baby kobold around his neck who shouted alarm whenever a rock threatened to bash in his head, climbed up through the ravine and created a rope for the rest to traverse. The party then escaped out into the approaching dusk. The kobold turned over the wand and enchanted necklace, and introduced herself as Latesha. She is now a friend to the three of them who helped rescue her children.

They spied not so far in the distance, the airship they had come in on surrounded by dancing, half-naked orcs, evidently partying and partially disarmed. Lux quaffed a potion and snuck in among them, gathering up their weapons and armor. They then tied a rope between two trees in the most logical path of egress. Tying a torch to the end of a rope, they then blew up the phosphorous-ridden ravine, thereby blocking anything from coming up behind them. The alarmed orcs ran drunkenly towards the noise, two of them caught by the rope. The third, wielding a poker with a skewered rabbit as a weapon, strayed behind almost enough to offer some resistance.

Grabbing the poor orc and removing his squirrel, Lux interrogated him to find out the group had come here with a man in gray robes, with red skin, who did not say his name. Accompanying him had been two others. This matched the story the Kobold told, and the bodies they had found below. The only other orc there was one who had tried to open a chest in the cabin, who was now “chunks.”

They went to go look at the mentioned chest, which were covered in obvious runes that Arcticias identified as explosive runes, designed to go off when the chest was opened. Surmising that the former occupants of the ship must have had a method to bypass the traps, they searched the cabin extensively. After some extensive searching, they were able to find a hidden compartment in one of the dressers which contained a key. Not taking any chances, they forced the orc to open the chest. It opened without blowing the orc up (to the orc’s vast relief).

Inside, they found 500 gold coins, a leather jacket of strange design, a pair of golden pantaloons, a jeweled crown with an ominous aura, a robe that shifted colors as it was picked up, and a richly illustrated deck of cards. Arcticias identified the robe’s properties, but determined he would have to spend time studying the others.

Lux released the orc, telling him to inform his superiors that, “Tim, the magnificant wizard, knows what you did in the room, and is coming for your soul.” The orc ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

The group, exhausted from an exceedingly long day, took to bed. Some shinanigans did occur in regards to the sleeping gunslinger, who did not notice as his hammock was strung across the front spar.